Cold Kisses
by BethyBoo97
Summary: Snow can cause all kinds of problems, especially for Holby Emergency Department.
1. Chapter 1

Cold Kisses

The snow was coming down thick and fast onto Zoe Hanna's windscreen as she drove the short distance from her house to Holby ED. Outside, the snow was laying on top of the numerous inches that had already fallen on the pavements and was fast replacing the snow on the road that had been removed not moments before. The truth was that the snow was falling quicker than it could be cleared, leaving the council workers with an impossible job.

The ED, and Zoe's normal parking space, could barely be seen right in front of her as the snow fell to heavily for really anything to be visible. The radio again burst into a traffic announcement as yet more roads were pronounced closed and again warned people to stay inside if possible. Managing to safely park in what resembled her space, Zoe got out of the car and again question why she had not dressed sensibly. The body con dress did a lot for her figure as it hugged her curves but little for her temperature as it came to a stop just above her knee.

"Always the sensible one I see Dr Hanna." Came a cheeky voice from behind her.

"I didn't realise that it was this bad, I thought the news was over exaggerating things again and by the time I realised that they weren't I didn't have the time to change." Zoe spoke as he stood next to her and they waded into the ED together.

"Not even your shoes?" Max laughed as he looked down at the 6 inch, expensive looking heels that she was wearing and shook his head slightly.

"Nothing is worth losing the shoes." Zoe reiterated, seeing as he clearly hadn't got it from when Robyn had seen her shoes and she'd had to wear trainers all day.

"They look like you're maybe going to have to lose them." Max pointed out as the shoes were wet through from wading through the snow between her car door and the ED entrance.

"Where is everyone Robert?" Zoe asked the man on reception as the silence she could hear shocked her, and then noticed that the waiting room was empty.

"Everyone's inside because of the weather, Louise and Noel have already rang in to say they can't get in and Staff Nurse Freeman seems to be facing the same problem through there." Robert told them before the phone rang again and the pair left to walk through to Zoe's office.

"Zoe! You made it in!" Rita cheered happily.

"Yeah, it seems plenty haven't though. I've only seen you and Max." Zoe replied, again seeing a lack of patients as she looked around. "Have we got anyone in?" She asked as Rita saw we looking around.

"A man in resus awaiting his theatre slot, Lily is through there with him as is Tash. There's an elderly woman in cubicle five awaiting a bed to become free on ward and then a baby with a rash in cubicle two who is waiting to be seen." Rita caught her up.

"I'll go and see to the baby then. Is any other staff in?"

"No, just those whom I've mentioned."

"Hettie Carter?" Zoe asked as she pulled back the curtain to the cubicle and entered.

"Yeah, I'm her mother, Lisa."

"How old is Hettie, Mrs Carter?" Zoe asked as she saw the rash protruding above the baby gro.

"8 months, she's had this rash all night. I thought she might have been too hot because of all the heating but I turned it down and it didn't even go down slightly.

"Has she got any allergies?"

"No."

"It could just be a reaction to the cold, some people have sensitive skin and this happens in extreme temperature change. Has she otherwise been well?"

"Yeah, she hasn't even had a sniffle." Lisa told Zoe.

"Okay, well we'll monitor her for a couple of hours just to make sure there's nothing else going on and then we can discharge you." Zoe said as she checked the baby's temperature and found it normal. "If there's any problems then press that call button and me or one of my colleague will be right through." Zoe said as she left the cubicle.

"Any luck with staff?" Zoe asked as she spotted Rita.

"No one is able to come in although we've heard nothing from Mrs Beauchamp."

"Okay. Is anyone waiting in reception?"

"No and by the sounds of it it's unlikely too. The roads to Holby hospital have been blocked off due to the snow, not even the ambulances can get in, everything is being diverted to St James. No one can get in and we can't get out."


	2. Chapter 2

"Theatre are ready for Mr James." Lily spoke as she walked out of resus and spotted Max.

"Okay, I'll take him up." Max said as he then walked off with Lily to take her patient to theatre, leaving just two patients in the ED.

"I'll be in my office if you need me Rita, I may as well catch up with some paperwork while I have some time because next thing you know all the snow will have melted and everyone and their aunt will be coming through those doors." Zoe told the younger nurse.

"Okay, I'll bring you a cuppa through."

"You're a star."

"Hello, Holby ED." Zoe greeted the caller as she answered her office phone.

"Zoe?" The voice responded.

"Yeah, is that you Connie?"

"Yeah, I take it you got into work then, are there many others there?" Connie asked.

"Rita, Lily, Tash, myself and Max."

"And patient wise?"

"We currently have two, an elderly woman awaiting a bed on ward and a baby on obs. The snow is coming down fast out there so we aren't expecting any more patients."

"That's actually what I called about, I am stuck on the road into Holby so I won't be in today. From what I can hear the roads to and from the hospital are blocked so I've decided to close the ED and divert to St James hospital, the roads there are being managed relatively well. Can you get onto that for me?"

"Of course, make sure you keep wrapped up out there, you may be stuck in your car for a while." Zoe warned.

"Thanks, I will."

"Was that Mrs Beauchamp?" Rita asked as she entered the office carrying a steaming hot mug.

"Yeah, she's stuck. She's also made the decision to close the ED and divert to St James."

"That's already happening."

"We aren't officially closed yet though, I need to ring Guy and ask him to sort it."

"I doubt he'll be in, he probably looked out the window this morning and decided that a day in bed was the more preferable option."

"I'd love to tell you you were wrong but I highly doubt you are. Someone in his office will be in though and they can sort it." Zoe laughed. "Is Max back from his theatre run?" Zoe asked as an after thought.

"Yeah, he's in his 'office'." Rita laughed, knowing that was what Max liked to call his office.

"Okay. I'm going to go see if he wants to go out for a smoke."

"You're really going to go for a fag in this weather?" Rita asked, assuming that Zoe may just have gone mad.

"Well that was my plan."

"You're mad." Rita laughed before she left to go and do Hettie's obs.

"Maybe I am." Zoe murmured to herself under her breath. "Maybe I am."

"Max?" Zoe called as she knocked on the door to his cupboard.

"Yep?" Max asked as he opened the door and came face to face with Zoe. "Come in." Max invited her in and kissed her as he closed the door behind them and backed her up against it.

"I was going to ask you if you wanted to go out for a cigarette but it seems you have other ideas." Zoe laughed as she started the kiss this time, reaching down to turn the lock on the door as she did.


	3. Chapter 3

Cold Kisses 3

"Where have you been?" Rita asked just over an hour later as Zoe seemed to come out of hiding and grace the nearly empty ED department with her presence.

"Here, there and everywhere. I'm a busy woman Rita." Zoe laughed and walked off towards cubicles to see the two patients that they had in. "Lisa, I'm here to check how Hettie's doing, while you're waiting would you like me to get you a cuppa?"

"I'd love a coffee please, will she be okay for a few minutes while I go and ring her dad?" Lisa asked.

"I'll get someone on it and yeah of course, I'll stay with her." Zoe smiled and set about taking the wriggling baby's temperature, which was steadily coming down.

"Did someone order a coffee?" Max asked, pulling back the cubicle curtains to see Zoe sitting on the chair with the young baby in her arms.

"Yeah, this one's mum, just put it on the side. Lisa's gone to phone Hettie's dad and asked me to watch her for a minute and it's hardly as if I'm rushed off my feet here."

"You have a point. I'd be surprised if she got any signal, the snow is coming down thick and fast out there, the back-up generator has already had to kick in here as the power in Holby has gone down."

"Great." Came Zoe's sarcastic reply.

"Damn you radio, if you're going to be my only company for a while, whilst I'm stuck then at least stop saying the same thing and repeating the same songs." Connie whispered, now questioning for the hundredth time why she had put the battery operated radio she kept in her car on. Her cold breath was visible even in the confines of her car, the blanket wrapped around her was doing little to warm her now and with the car heating not being on, to save her car battery, and she was now cursing herself for even leaving the house this morning. She'd been on of, what appeared to be, many motorists who had set off that day and found themselves stuck on the road with the snow getting thicker on the road surface.

"_Holby is experiencing the worst snow storms it has seen it over 20 years, with most of the city now buried in 12 inches of snow. Many parts of the city are experiencing power outages, the advice is to stay in and keep warm. Holby Hospital ED has been shut due to the roads into it being closed, many other roads are also closed. Experts are warning people to stay indoors unless it's an absolute emergency." _The radio spoke, again repeating something they had told her not half an hour before.

"You've said that 12 times since I got in the car." She sighed, getting ever more grumpy with every passing minute.

"Max is it just me or is it getting colder in here?" Rita asked as she sat in the staff room with a mug of coffee.

"I think it might be the junior ice queen over there." Max whispered cheekily, gesturing to Lily who was sat on the sofa.

"I'm serious Max." Rita emphasised, pulling her cardigan closer around her body.

"Maybe the door at the front is open, I'll check."

"Okay, if you see Zoe on your travels then tell her I've made her a drink." Rita called as he left.

"Oh don't worry, she's in with the baby and her mother." Max called back.

**A/N I'm sorry for the awful chapter but I'd forgotten about this story until someone on Facebook reminded me about it, this is kind of building up to something, which you might of guessed. This chapter is short and probably not the best but I'm trying to get back into this story.**

**Beth x**


End file.
